The Atoning Cat-Girl
by Noy Telin'u
Summary: Ranma fell into the cursed spring at Jusenkyo, but something isn't right. As a result of training gone awry a decade earlier, the magic of the spring has changed Ranma forever with dire consequences. How will Ranma deal with being a catgirl, a monster in her own eyes? It's the Marvel-ous tale of a catgirl seeking redemption for her sins. And beating people up, of course.
1. Origin story

The Atoning Cat-Girl

~Noy Telinú~

**Warning:** this fic is darker than most Noy fics… not as bad as Half a Y… but darkish… sorta… mostly… kinda… not really… no.

**Caution:** this fic was voted for by a poll. Like The Revenge of Jusenkyo and Ranma, the Mutant Catgirl. It might be as good as those… we'll see…

**Thanks:** for voting by the way… and tuatara who edited this. Blame goes that way, not to me, the Text…

You have been warned….

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**Prologue: **Origin story

A tiny boy named Ranma whimpered as he tried to hide from the cats in the pit.

It was already his nineteenth time in the pit filled with starving cats. This time, chibi-Ranma was covered in milk. Of course, the cats attacked Ranma in an attempt to get the milk off of him.

But this time it was different; this time there was no meat to grab. This time the teeth of the cats drew blood, lots and lots of blood.

The young boy, only six years of age, felt the blood running over his ears, his mouth, the tips of his fingers, and his lower back.

Unfortunately for the world, one cat started licking Ranma's eyelids.

Suddenly, things… changed…

Outside the covered pit, Genma was meditating, hoping that this time things would be different.

'My poor, poor scared son…' Genma sighed as he thought to himself. 'I don't know what else to use to get him over this pathetic fear of cats.'

Suddenly, a yowl was heard… and then, Ranma exploded out of the pit… on all fours…

Genma didn't know what hit him.

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Ranma Saotome, six-year-old boy, was purring.

More specifically, purring on the lap of an old woman. An old woman who was smiling with her eyes closed. A smiling old woman, eyes closed, with a boy on her lap… that was purring… like a cat.

That is what Genma saw when he staggered into the area.

Ranma was asleep while he purred, peaceful and relaxed.

Genma decided right then and there not to try anymore with the Nekoken.

'The boy has gone from afraid to insane,' Genma thought sadly. 'My poor insane son… No more of this… This was a bad idea. Who thought of it?'

Ranma eventually woke up.

"Huh? Why is everything so warm… AHHH! Dad! What happened to you?!" Ranma shouted, throwing his arms in the air.

Genma sighed. "At least you're back to normal…"

"Huh?" Ranma tilted his head.

"Nothing… nothing," Genma reassured the boy. "Let's… go back to camp…"

"OK…" Ranma jumped off the old woman's lap and ran towards his father.

Genma took one last look at the old woman, wondering how she calmed down his son.

Unknown to either of them, Ranma's body was tainted. He was unaffected physically, but rather mentally tainted. A split personality was now born. One that would cause Ranma fear, anger, hate, and suffering…

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Ten years later…

Genma could say that he was proud of his son. Over the many years of training, Ranma had grown from a young boy into a young man. A young man who managed to hit him at this last training ground before heading back to Japan.

The older Saotome splashed into the spring below. That is when things changed.

A panda jumped out of the spring into which Genma had fallen.

"What the-?" Ranma spewed.

A portly Chinese man, who had tried to warn the Saotomes about the dangers of the Jusenkyo springs, spoke up. "He fall in Spring of Drowned Panda. Whoever fall in spring becomes panda."

Ranma was stunned by this turn of events and quickly found himself backhanded by the panda into a different spring.

"Ooh, you fall into Spring of Drowned Girl. Whoever fall in spring take on body of young girl," the Jusenkyo guide explained. "So sad…"

Something was wrong, though. Ranma wasn't resurfacing.

Genma, now realizing he was a panda, stood in shock next to the guide.

"Hmm? Very odd. No come up yet. Maybe drown." The guide scratched his head. "Very confusing spring it be, then…"

Ranma, however, wasn't drowning. No… something far, far worse was taking place.

The boy's body became a girl's, which was what was supposed to happen. What wasn't supposed to happen was for it to be painful. Not the stubbed toe or broken bone or even stepping on a Lego painful, though. No, more like being boiled alive painful.

Of course, that wasn't supposed to happen. The water was cool. Keyword WAS. Yet it had started to heat up to extreme levels for some reason.

Perhaps it was the dilemma occurring inside that particular pool. The spring turned any living animal into a young girl, but this person was different. Ranma, either by bad luck or some cosmic turn of events, still had cat DNA in his… now her bloodstream. It wasn't attached to the rest of the human DNA, it was just _there_. Unknowingly biding its time to fuse with the human in whom it resided.

Unfortunately, its presence interfered with the magic turning Ranma into a girl. It IS the Spring of Drowned Girl, after all, and because of magic, turned the boy into a girl. But, since the rogue feline DNA wasn't alive, it wasn't affected; yet its presence caused a feedback loop error.

Jusenkyo's magic is simple: Turn what fell in into what drowned there. And so the spring did. It turned the boy into a girl. However, it still 'sensed' in some way that whatever was in the spring wasn't a human girl, so it repeated the process… only to find that there were still signs of non-human girl in the spring. So it did it again. Since all that happened nearly instantaneously, by the time Ranma was completely submerged, the friction of magic vs. genetic mutation was causing the water to heat up. Not to mention heating Ranma herself.

Neither non-living entity on either side of the fight realized what was going on, being non-living and all.

So, by the time Ranma's feet touched the bottom of the spring, the water was already boiling.

But finally, due to the magic flowing through the young girl's body at such a rapid pace, the little bit of cat became one with the human.

The guide started taking steps away. "Oh no… this no happen before. Jusenkyo angry…"

Genma was too busy looking at his paws to pay attention.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Ranma screamed as she launched herself out of the spring, kicking off the bottom.

"Very weird," the guide noted.

Ranma landed with a splat, right onto a patch of grass.

Her skin was burning red from the heat, her body was in pain, and that's when she saw her own reflection in the nearest spring.

Ranma's heart rate skyrocketed as she looked into her reflection.

Staring back was a catgirl. One that was human for the most part… except for the ears… and fangs… and a tail that rubbed up against her leg.

"Ooh, young sir became a mix of girl and cat… a catgirl. This no happen before… you fall in Spring of Drowned Girl," the guide noted with a raised eyebrow.

Ranma's fear of being part cat turned into anger, anger at her panda father for doing this to her. "POPS!"

Genma looked on in terror as Ranma glared at him.

"POPS!" Ranma's anger fell into hate as her rage blew.

Suddenly, Genma turned back the way he came and ran.

That was when the pupils of Ranma's eyes suddenly became slitted in shape.

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Ranma's body changed drastically in less than two minutes, going from a boy on the brink of manhood to a raging catgirl.

And she was pissed.

Genma only made it to the edge of the valley before Ranma tackled him, knocking the panda to the ground. Her fingernails weren't those of a human anymore; they were thicker, and all of a sudden grew longer, extending out from her fingers by a centimeter or two. The nails were the claws of a cat.

Ranma snarled at her father, sinking her new claws into his back.

If Ranma were thinking rationally, she would have wondered where the claws came from… but she wasn't, so she didn't.

*Slash* Four huge cuts were now prominent of Genma's back, deep enough for blood to spray out rapidly.

Ranma didn't care, though. Her mind was long gone, gone into the Catfist, the Nekoken.

The fury in her eyes, like those of a cat, made it clear that she would not be showing mercy.

Sadly for Genma, his mistake a decade before was now spelled his doom as Ranma's fear turned to rage that with a new body easily overtook her conscious mind with the cat personality in her head.

The cat wasn't playing this time; it was hurt in many areas and knew who was to blame. It had evolved with the magic-genetic fusion… somehow.

It didn't care that this panda was her father. The cat only saw red.

With a whimper, Genma was slashed repeatedly, losing huge chunks of flesh as the cat dug in relentlessly.

The Jusenkyo guide looked on in horror as Ranma absolutely destroyed her father within seconds.

Moments later, Genma was no more.

Ranma didn't stop, however. No, the cat mind wanted to grind the panda into paste.

The Jusenkyo guide had gotten hot water when the Saotomes came into the valley. After all, no one ever listened to him.

Thus the guide grabbed the water and threw it onto Ranma, hopeful that by turning back to normal the boy would break out of his madness.

The splash did its job, causing Ranma to snap out of it, eyes returning to normal.

"Huh? What just happened? Why am I covered in blood? Why… AHHHHH!" Ranma saw the bloody, barely recognizable carcass of Genma as a panda.

The guide, as relieved as he was, scratched his head in confusion.

For Ranma was still a catgirl.

'The water was hot enough. This is very, very confusing. How was the curse locked?' the guide wondered to himself.

"I… I didn't do this… did I?" Ranma stared at her hands, her bloody hands. "I couldn't! No… I… I couldn't have… It must have…"

The catgirl started crying. "No, no, NO, NO, **NO**!"

The guide stood there awkwardly as Ranma cried her eyes out.

"Pops…" Ranma sobbed. "Pops…"

Ranma screamed at the top of her lungs before hugging what little remained of her father, crying all the while.

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The self-made orphan watched solemnly as the fire burned the remains of her father to ash.

'At least this way he gets back to Japan…' Ranma thought as she stared into the fire.

Normally a funeral cremation would take a few days, but Ranma didn't want to wait that long.

And so, the catgirl watched on as the fire consumed her father, planning on what to do afterwards.

In time, the fire died and Ranma put the ashes into a small urn provided by the guide.

Then she took a tanto knife and kneeled down.

"Please mail this to Japan… Pops deserves to get home…" Ranma asked, a tear running down her cheek.

"Aiyah! What you doing?" the guide asked in alarm.

Ranma sniffled. "I'm going to redeem my honor… somehow. I'm a monster…"

The guide was frantic. "What with Japanese people and killing themselves?! You no, no monster!"

"YES I AM!" Ranma yelled. "What kind of person would murder their own father, HUH?! Murder him in cold blood… Sure, he was mean at times… but still… I'm going to end it and pray my ancestors can forgive me."

"This place is pools of sorrow, yes… Many die here… But why kill self? That do nothing!" the guide countered. "You only make valley worse!"

"LOOK AT ME!" Ranma screeched. "I'm supposed to be a guy, a MAN! But what sort of man kills his own father!? And not just kill him, but RIP HIM TO SHREDS! I'm not even HUMAN anymore! I snapped and did THAT! I could do it again! Something has changed me… I can't allow myself to harm others. I WAS a martial artist. They're supposed to protect the weak… not kill in cold blood…"

The Jusenkyo guide sighed. "Killing yourself be easy way out. It make you look weak… very weak. You no think better to not kill self, but help others? You good martial artist, me saw, use that for good."

Ranma looked down at the knife in her hands, its reflective surface forcing her to look again at her new appearance.

"Live… like this?" Ranma spoke slowly. "How? I look like some weird creature. Others would kill me."

The guide shrugged. "Perhaps…"

Ranma sighed. "I don't know what to do…"

The guide stood there, watching Ranma for a while, before grabbing the small urn and placing it in front of her.

"What father say?" the guide asked.

Ranma tear-ed up. "Nothing… He's DEAD!"

"No listen good enough," the guide said. "Listen to heart."

Ranma glared at him. "Why do YOU care if I live?"

The guide smiled. "You very, very different. You no normally angry like that, are you?"

Ranma huffed. "No… One of the first things you learn as a martial artist is to control your anger. Still, why do you care?"

"This never happen before." The guide took out a pipe. "You fall in Spring of Drowned Girl. You supposed to be girl, not catgirl. Something happen to you long ago, yes? Maybe you cat demon…"

"Oh, so I'm a demon, not a monster?" Ranma rolled her eyes. "That's _sooo_ much better."

The guide nodded. "It is. Demon very powerful. They destroy land. The Musk and Phoenix keep demon out of China. Most demon no exist today. Some end up nice, especially half ones. Everyone hate them. One go and save world, kill almost all other demon. From Japan, Inuyasha. You heard of that story, yes?"

The catgirl shook her head.

"No matter, you like him. Evil side want out and kill. You need it to stay in you," the Jusenkyo guide explained. "Save lot of people you can."

Ranma twirled the knife in her hand. "I'm not a demon…"

"You something. No want you die. Very bad things happen when people like you die. I can see." The guide smoked his pipe. "I no believe in people kill themselves. No solve anything."

Ranma grunted. "Your problem, not mine. I have nothing to live for anyway."

"How about mother?" the guide asked genuinely. "Do you have mother?"

_That_ stopped Ranma right in mid-twirl as she dropped the knife.

The catgirl zoned out. "I… I don't know… I never knew about my mother…"

"She may be alive, yes?" the guide suggested with a smile.

"Maybe…" Ranma spoke slowly.

A few minutes passed by without a word.

"She won't recognize me anyway…" Ranma sighed. "Or even believe me. Mom is probably dead as well. This is… this is my punishment for killing Pops. I need to redeem myself."

"So you live?" the guide asked, hopeful.

Ranma nodded. "I guess. At least until I bury this with my mom…"

The redheaded catgirl picked up the urn and stared at it.

"Too bad we can only get this much…" Ranma closed her eyes. "How am I supposed to carry it?"

The guide left for his hut.

Ranma looked around, saddened.

That's when she noticed the paper by her foot.

Ranma picked it up to see her name along with Genma's. There was a third, but it was covered in blood.

She flipped it over and gasped.

On the other side was a photo of an infant Ranma in a woman's arms with Genma standing behind her.

"Mom?" Ranma spoke in shock. "Is that Mom?"

Soon, the guide came back with a chain.

"Here you go." The guide gave the chain to Ranma. "Wear around neck. It help with remembering, yes?"

Ranma took the chain, wrapping it around the urn. "Thank you. I have a lot to atone for…"

With that, Ranma grabbed her things and left the valley for Japan.

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A redhead girl walked down the streets of Tokyo.

Her head was covered by a green Mao-style hat and most of her body was hidden from view in a matching green Chinese suit.

It was rather odd to see such a small girl carry such a large pack effortlessly as she solemnly walked along the streets, her blue eyes looking dead to the world.

A hand covered in a green glove came up and pushed her hair out of her face, for it was raining that day.

Yes, the girl was in the rain without an umbrella… or even a friend in the world.

Ranma stopped and looked to the left, seeing a cemetery beyond a fence.

With a few quick hops, she entered the cemetery, looking for her family name.

'Pops… you'll soon be buried with Mom… It's something, right?' the girl thought to herself as she looked for a name.

Unfortunately for her, the Saotomes weren't buried in that cemetery.

After searching the whole place five times, she sighed and walked out, the rain still pouring down on her.

'That's eighteen cemeteries I've searched in Japan already…' Ranma thought sadly as she went looking for the next one.

Her stomach growled just then. Not that she cared, even if it was bothersome.

Instead, the catgirl trudged on, desperately looking for her family's grave.

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The next day…

Ranma laid in her tent, her energy drained from not eating in days. The rain still poured from the sky, equaling her mood eerily.

The young catgirl just wanted to die right then, to get her meaningless life over with. But she wouldn't… she couldn't let herself die until she buried the remains of her father with her relatives.

Unfortunately for Ranma, she still hadn't found the grave. That meant she couldn't starve herself to death just yet.

With a groan, Ranma got herself up and walked back out into the pouring rain.

'I need to get some food. Stupid search… Stupid me… Of course it would take a while to find it…'

Whether due to hunger, tiredness, or the heavy rain, Ranma didn't read the name of the first store she entered.

However, she was able to tell that she made the wrong choice once inside.

'Oh, goodie…' Ranma thought sarcastically. 'A bookstore. Great. And not just any bookstore, no, I had to wander into the foreign bookstore selling American comics. Of course they call them "manga." Like that's not confusing. "Oh, I'm looking for the newest manga, here is the manga section, huh? What's this? Batman, Spider-Man, Hulk… This isn't what I was looking for!" Whatever, I need to leave and find food.'

The catgirl walked out the door, being shoved rudely by a guy wearing all black.

Ranma snarled, too hungry to retaliate, and continued walking on in the rain.

She could hear yelling coming from within the store, but she was too exhausted to pay much attention and trudged towards the next building.

That is, until she was knocked to the ground by the same man in black, this time wearing a handkerchief tied under his nose… and carrying a large bag.

"That's it!" Ranma stood up, her anger rising. "That guy is asking for it!"

With adrenaline fresh in her body, Ranma hastily followed the guy into an alley next to the store.

'Wait a minute… That guy's a thief!' Ranma realized. 'And he has a sandwich! Alright, thief, prepare to be spooked.'

The guy stopped under a canopy and was smiling wickedly.

"Heh, heh…" he chuckled. "Let's see how much yen I was able to get…"

"None," Ranma said suddenly, her face hanging down over the canopy.

"AHHH!" The guy jumped. "What the hell!?"

Ranma, her hat off and her eyes slitted like a cat, smiled evilly. "From hell? Maybe… just maybe… it's where you'll be going soon."

The guy quickly pulled out a gun. "Stay back! Whatever you are!"

"AND you have a gun in Japan?" Ranma laughed, showing off her fangs. "Yet another law you broke. My, my, my… Isn't _that_ something. Stupid, but something."

"I'll shoot!" the guy warned, shaking badly thereby ruining the threat.

"Go on… I DARE you!" Ranma narrowed her eyes.

*Boom* The gun fired.

But Ranma wasn't there.

The thief looked left and right and up, but didn't see her.

'Did I just imagine that?' he thought as he shook his head. 'Stupid conscience.'

"Talk about slow. I saw you pull the trigger you know," Ranma said all of a sudden behind him.

"AHHHH!" The guy turned around to find no one.

'This is really freaking me out…' The thief breathed deeply.

"Nice sandwich. The tuna was great," Ranma spoke from behind the man again.

Once again he turned around to see nothing… except a wrapper.

"Alright, who are you?!" the thief demanded angrily, eyes darting, as he searched for any sign of someone.

"Me?" Ranma's voice seemed to echo around him. "Nothing much. Just a monster… especially for people like you."

"What's THAT suppose to mean?!" The guy panicked, head turning constantly.

Ranma laughed. "It means that I've killed before… and I'll do it again if I see reason to. A monster in the dark… waiting to get you."

The guy was shaking like mad. "You're n-n-nnot get-t-t-ttting me-eee-e-ee."

"Ooh, but I am. The cat always gets its prey… especially when the prey is helpless and stupid," Ranma laughed.

"Show yourself!" the thief shrieked.

"Gladly…" Ranma smiled.

The catgirl knocked the gun away easily, and then hit the man nine times.

*CRACK*

Breaking his arms and legs… and a few ribs.

"AHHAHAOWWW!" the man screamed as he crumpled to the ground in agony.

Ranma grabbed the man by the chin and brought it up to meet her face.

Said thief was crying. "Are… are you going to kill me?"

Ranma smirked. "No… that would make me worse than you… But I have found out in my life that there are fates worse than death. For your punishment must be more severe. I will haunt your nightmares, not allowing you to have a moment of rest. You WILL tell others about me. But no one will believe you. You will go mad and think that this didn't really happen, that it was impossible, that you're just insane. In the end, you will beg me to kill you, to put you out of your misery."

The thief whimpered.

"And I'll say no. I have a new life and purpose now, a way to atone for my sins, a way to make everything better and it's all thanks to you robbing that comic shop. And that sandwich. It was a good sandwich. I know your type, hiding in the dark, threatening others to get what you want, stealing for needs and pleasure alike. But you weren't born of darkness; you just use it for your own advantage. And that's why I'm better than you. I was born of darkness, raised by the best thief in the world. You never stood a chance. And you will suffer. Every. Single. Day. Goodnight, thief. When you wake up, you'll wish you hadn't." Ranma grinned evilly, showing her fangs.

The catgirl hit the guy on the back of the head, sending him into unconsciousness.

"That was a good talk." Ranma smiled to herself, picking up the bag of money and the thief. "Well… I only need a little money…"

With a shrug, Ranma pulled out a few hundred yen for herself and got onto the roof of the bookstore.

Itabashi police were just arriving at the store and beginning to investigate when suddenly a bag of money and a person fell onto the ground in front of the entrance.

"What the-?" the policeman with a mustache wondered aloud and looked up to the roof, finding no one.

"What… was that?" his partner asked.

"I don't know. But I think we found our culprit," the police stated, walking over to the victim.

"Do you think it was one of those martial artists?" the other policeperson asked.

The mustached man stroked his facial hair. "The Nerima ones? Perhaps… We are close to the border, after all."

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Ranma, hat on and eyes normal, walked down the street feeling just slightly better than before.

The rain was still coming down, but that didn't matter to the catgirl one bit.

'Is this what I'm going to do? Be a vigilante like in those comic books? Why did I even say those things anyway? I was angry and… and I broke his bones… WHAT HAVE I BECOME?' Ranma mentally screamed.

Shaking it off, the redhead picked up her pace, wondering why she hasn't seen any open shops that sold food.

There was a sign that said 'Nerima,' but Ranma wasn't paying much attention.

The rain lessened more and more as she went on.

Eventually, Ranma found an outdoor market that was open.

'Many fruits and vegetables… I wonder why they don't look wet. Wait…' Ranma looked skyward. 'The rain… It stopped!'

Indeed, the rain had stopped pounding Ranma as she walked, but more eerie was the fact that the ground in this area was dry.

'Weird,' Ranma noted as she looked for something to eat.

The catgirl browsed the shops, seeing a great variety of food options.

The redhead girl started browsing some food options when rays of sunshine hit her.

'Huh. Guess the storm is over finally,' Ranma thought absently.

Ranma was just finishing up shopping when she, due to being extremely tired, walked into someone.

Bags of food flew into the air… somehow.

The other person was falling down due to impact.

Ranma was exhausted and weary.

Still… she was a martial artist.

Using her quickness, Ranma caught the stranger, preventing her from hitting the ground.

The food bags fell down on them.

Fortunately, Ranma caught all of the bags, balancing some of them oddly. Not a single piece of food fell on the ground.

"Whew," Ranma sighed in relief. "Are you alright? Sorry about that."

The stranger looked her in the eyes and said, "Oh my. That was amazing."

Ranma chuckled. "Maybe… but… um… it's kind of hard to hold this. So… could you please stand up, Miss?"

"Oh dear, where are my manners?" The stranger stood up and gave Ranma a hand, smiling sweetly. "My name is Kasumi Tendo. I haven't seen you around here before."

Ranma gave Kasumi her bags. "Just got here. You aren't hurt, are you?"

Kasumi smiled. "No, not at all. Thanks to you I'm uninjured. I'm sorry about walking into you. I'm not usually that careless."

"No, no, it's my fault," Ranma admitted. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

Kasumi giggled. "We're both at fault, then. I was shopping for dinner tonight and was thinking about what my father announced and you… Excuse me, but, what is your name, Miss?"

Ranma flinched at that. "I… I was just getting something to eat… You know?"

"Oh, for just yourself? Do you live alone?" Kasumi grew concerned.

The redhead looked away. "Yeah… I do… Sorry, but I got to go… Sorry again for walking into you. Bye…"

With that, Ranma walked away hastily.

"Wait!" Kasumi called out. "I still don't… know your name…"

But the redhead was already too far away.

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**Author's notes:** wow… dark, huh? And if you do remember the poll that ended in August, yes, yes, it will be. Plus, yuri. ^_^ Until next time, I'm the TEXT! MERRY NEW YEAR!


	2. New Beginnings

The Atoning Cat-Girl

~Noy Telinú~

**Warning:** rubbing open cuts with cat fur, blood, spit, and other bodily fluids does NOT give you a catlike appearance or superpowers. It is all fiction. Seriously, do not attempt. Trust me, I'm the Text.

**Caution:** cats can hurt you. Really, really hurt you. Yes they are cute, but they are also hunters. Cute deadly hunters. Catgirls thus would be something you do not want to face.

**Reviews:** are very welcome! Please do more! A record for a fic by Noy! cabrera1234, what you are asking is true, from a certain point of view. Honestly, I have no idea, but I'm guessing yes. Don't blame me, the Text! tuatara, well, yeah, it takes a bit from Batman, Spiderman, and Hulk. Thanks! Raynze76, me too! Dumbledork, I'd doubt it. Noy doesn't seem to want Ranma in a stripperific outfit. What's wrong with a superheroine with pants? I have no idea. Sephirotho, oh, it will be… it will be… and yes, suicide is the Hitler way out. OOH! :O James Birdsong, Fantastic! Lazy Eyes Conway, well, here ya go. Jerry Unipeg, what a twiiisssttt! Ranmayamabushi, 4! Gotgass, here it is! irnzenmonk, Nyeh! cj1of4, more like CatGirl! Kisa tracer, moar! luger 7, yeah huh. jabber185, hope you no wait too, too long! Pryde Kitty, is this soon? RCPMione, yay! Starfirecoon, staying alive! wolfdude16, here's more! Olive343, yeah, its comicbook like. Kyothefallenkit, me too! Wrin, Or is it?! O_o

**Thanks!:** to tuatara, who still edits to this day, we love you, all of us, even Telinú!

You have been warned….

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_New Beginnings_

Ranma meditated in her tent in the park, wearing only her ill-fitting boxers and a white tanktop undershirt.

Eyes closed, the redheaded catgirl reflected on the events of earlier in the day.

'A hero. I actually vowed to be a hero…' Ranma sighed. 'Don't know if Pops would say it's great or foolish… but I am going to go through with this.'

A twitch in her ear made Ranma shudder.

'Oh yeah, THAT problem.' Ranma groaned. 'While evil… with the way that thief reacted, perhaps it will be a good idea to utilize this… curse. And if I do, then that means I need a disguise… lest I bring shame upon what remains of my family.'

Ranma's tail swayed as she thought, finding a rhythmic pattern.

'Those superheroes in comics… They have costumes to protect their identity. I should do that as well.' Ranma smirked. 'I KNOW I can make one. But now I need a design, one that shows my monstrosity in a terrifying fashion, while not, you know, having all the perverts be all perverted at me. I swear, that one guy is lucky I didn't rip his arm off… and my clothes are very loose!'

*Growl*

Ranma gritted her teeth as her stomach complained. "Food first. That's for sure…."

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The restaurant was only half full for the most part as the disguised catgirl shuffled in, growling, her green Mao suit, gloves, and hat soaked by rain.

An employee blinked in surprise as the girl muttered a few things to herself, some curses thrown in.

"One, please," the girl told the employee as politely as she possibly could.

The employee regained focus. "Oh, yes… This way."

Ranma followed as she was led to her seat nearby. 'Stupid rain…'

"Would you like me to take your coat and hat for you?" the employee asked.

'I would LOVE to. Stupid thing is uncomfortable.' Ranma resisted groaning. "No… I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" the employee asked again, looking Ranma over.

The girl just nodded.

The employee shrugged. "Alright. Here's your menu."

"Thank you," Ranma muttered, barely opening her mouth.

With a nod, the employee left as Ranma looked over her options.

'Once again, my monstrosity has made things harder… No, don't think about that. Just look at the options.' Ranma took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. 'All this sushi looks really good right now. Probably because I'm so hungry… GAH!'

As the disguised catgirl figured out what to order within her budget, a scream was heard.

*SHATTER*

"NOBODY MOVE, OR THE KID GETS IT!" a man in the front of the restaurant threatened, knife against a young girl's throat.

Ranma growled, her anger rising. 'How DARE he! Threatening a kid!? I'll show him! What is it with this area and stupid crime!?'

"Give me your money! NOW!" the thief demanded.

As the redheaded girl was about to get up, her gaze fell upon the light switches for the dining room. Ranma smirked. 'The gloves come off… literally.'

Suddenly, the room was bathed in blackness.

Female screams echoed throughout the building.

"Damn it!" The knife-wielding jerk picked the girl up, trying and failing to see.

Ranma appeared in front of him, hat off. _**"**__**Put. Her. Down."**_

The guy stumbled backwards at the sight, falling to the floor as Ranma's glowing cat eyes, visible ears and fangs caused him to scream in fear.

The catgirl grabbed the blade of the knife in one hand and the girl in the other, easily pulling her from his grasp.

"W-what are you?" The scared man nearly peed himself.

**_"Never seen a cat before?_****_"_** Ranma smirked, purposely showing her fangs.

The girl she rescued watched in amazement. What she could see, anyway. 'Kitty?' she wondered.

Ranma took the knife and paused, noticing something. **_"_****_Very dull… Fitting, really. Now, what to do with you?"_**

"AHHHHH!" the man screamed, staring into Ranma's face. A face that promised pain.

Ranma put the girl down in her chair and grabbed the guy by the collar. **_"_****_Let's leave the people in peace, shall we?"_**

With that, the catgirl dragged him through the front doors and onto the street.

A flash of lightning created a silhouette of Ranma, her cat ears and tail obvious.

Within a second after that, she disappeared.

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*Thud*

Ranma deposited the man on the roof of the restaurant.

"AHH!" the criminal screamed at seeing Ranma, now in the city light in all her catgirl glory.

The rain irritated Ranma, but she smiled anyway, albeit evilly.

"Stay back!" the man insisted, as he crawled backwards in panic.

**_"No._****_"_** Ranma licked her lips. **_"_****_I'm hungry…"_**

The man soiled himself as the catgirl approached him slowly.

**_"You won't make much of a meal…_****_"_** Ranma frowned, picking the man up, her fingernails digging into his skin, making him bleed. **_"_****_Like a little bird that pissed off a cat. You criminals are irritating me, just like the little bird. And unlike in fiction, this cat gets its prey."_**

The man was now whimpering, crying, begging to be spared.

*Thwap*

Ranma backhanded him, causing the man to tumble across the roof.

The man passed out, deep cuts visible across his cheek.

**_"Despicable,_****_"_** Ranma snarled as she walked over to him.

The catgirl shook her head, eyes becoming normal.

"That was a bit cruel…" Ranma murmured to herself as she pickpocketed the man.

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With hat and gloves back on, Ranma decided just to grab some food quickly and get back to business: Getting a costume made.

After a bit of searching for a shop to buy fabrics, the catgirl unintentionally wandered into Nerima.

*Dingaling*

An old woman with giant coke-bottle glasses greeted the girl. "Hello, dearie. Welcome to my shop. Oh my, I see that you don't have an umbrella and are soaking wet. You're not from around here, are you?"

Ranma sighed. "No, I'm not."

"You look uncomfortable. You may hang up your coat and hat if you wish." The old woman pointed to her coat rack. "It rains here so very often…"

Ranma shook her head. "I'm fine."

"If you say so, dearie…" The old woman smiled, shaking her head. "Kids these days…"

Ranma ignored her as she searched for what she needed.

The old woman watched her as the disguised catgirl shopped, her gaze causing Ranma to shiver.

'Focus, focus… I need something that's tough and durable but will look good. I really, really don't want it to be form fitting though. Having guys drool over me is something I'd like to avoid. Although it would add to my dexterity… Why can't I just buy armor like in video games!? Then again, if I could all that I'd be able to get would be a chainmail bikini. Freaking perverts. Now as for the mask, what kind? There's the full-face one, just black around the eyes, a full head covering… So hard to choose. I need to show my ears, so there's that. But how well do those work? Dammit!' Ranma massaged her forehead. 'So much harder than I thought.'

The catgirl eventually got everything she needed and proceeded to check out.

"That will be 9001 yen." The old woman rung her up. "Quite a lot here, dearie. I hope you don't live too far away."

Ranma sweatdropped. "Of course… um… Here you go. Um… Hold on."

As luck would have it, Ranma was exactly one yen short. As she searched her pockets again and again, desperately looking for a single yen, the old woman smiled.

"Stop searching, dearie. It's quite alright. I'll let it slide," the old woman laughed. "It's just one yen. There you go."

"Thank you." Ranma bowed, embarrassed. "Um… Bye!"

With that, the catgirl took off.

"What a strange girl." The old woman tilted her head as she watched her leave.

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Kasumi Tendo was making dinner for her family, but her mind was adrift.

'I wonder what Ranma will be like… I do hope he's older than me.' Kasumi sighed blissfully. 'With guests coming over, this place will be _exciting_! Oh, so romantic…'

So out of it was Kasumi that she didn't hear her sister walk into her kitchen.

"Hey Sis, when do you think they'll get here?" Nabiki Tendo asked, irritation obvious on her face. "Dressing like this is really getting uncomfortable. Wearing a kimono was a bad idea."

"Hm?" Kasumi turned her heads towards her younger sister. "I don't know."

Nabiki sighed. "Of course not… Daddy has been staring at the door for hours now. Heck, they might not even come today and I'll have wasted my time wearing this thing."

"Oh my…" Kasumi placed a hand to her mouth. 'I never thought that they wouldn't show up today. Father didn't actually offer an exact date, did he?'

"Screw it. If they're not here when dinner's ready I'm changing." Nabiki threw her hands in the air and left the kitchen.

Kasumi considered her progress on the evening meal. 'That will be soon, little sister… What if they don't come? Should I just save it for later? Reheating the food I made just seems like a waste. If only someone else could eat it.'

The oldest Tendo daughter went on cooking, thinking of whom she could offer dinner, only for it soon to slip her mind. That is, until…

'That girl I bumped into today!' Kasumi's eyes lit up. 'She lives all alone, and her eyes… She seemed so lonely and sad. Too bad I don't know where she lives or even her name. Poor girl…'

Glancing out the window, Kasumi saw that it was raining again.

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Ranma's tent was littered with red and black fabric, its owner gripping her head. She shivered when she brushed her ears, which, like most of her, were uncovered; wet clothes are uncomfortable, after all.

The catgirl's stomach growled at that moment, irritating her further.

"Stupid hunger! Being broke sucks!" Ranma groaned as she picked up the costume top she was working on. "At least I know how to do this thanks to Pops being… Pops…"

Ranma's face fell, her hand going to the tiny urn around her neck containing all that was left of her father.

The catgirl's ears drooped as she thought about her father.

"I'm doing this for you, Pops…" Ranma took a deep breath and continued working.

*Snip*

The catgirl cut some fabric.

*Snip* *Snip*

More cutting.

*Snip* *Snip* *Snippity snip!*

Ranma smirked as she lifted up the top to her face.

It was black, long-sleeved, triple-thick tights with attached fingerless gloves.

"It needs a logo or something though… But what?" Ranma mused. "Whoops, a loose thread."

The catgirl snipped it off with her fingers, because scissors are an unnecessary expense and she was broke.

"Let's see… ugh!" Ranma blanched as she looked over her remaining supplies. "I'm nearly out! ARRG! Not enough for pants! In fact, there's only enough for a…"

Ranma's eyes widened as above her, a thought bubble depicted her in a short skirt striking a pose.

"No, no, no, no, NO!" Ranma shook her head violently. "There must be something I can use!"

The catgirl dug into her pack in a panic, her butt in the air, ears twitching and tail waving back and forth.

After emptying her bag many times over, Ranma lay sprawled out, clothing and fabric everywhere.

"Drawstring pants…" the irritated, hungry catgirl muttered. "All I have that I can use are drawstring pants… and they have a bow on then."

Normally Ranma wouldn't mind the whitish bow on the pants, but she wanted to look intimidating. So…

"Maybe I can cover it up?" Ranma thought aloud. "Hmm…"

The catgirl sat up and felt the pants. With a raised eyebrow, she put them down and crawled over to some equipment in the corner of her tent.

With some rummaging and modification, Ranma fashioned a toolbelt over the drawstring pants.

The catgirl smirked as she made some more changes, leaving the pants to sport a genuine utility belt.

"Perfect." Ranma placed the pants next to the top. "Now all I need is a logo…"

A red piece of fabric cut into a circle caught her eye, as well as a few red and black triangles.

The catgirl's ears twitched, giving Ranma an idea.

Minutes later, she had her logo. A black isosceles triangle pointing downwards on a red circle with red triangles on the top two corners, nine red circles connected to each other under the left ear. Using her fingers as scissors again, Ranma cut a small piece of blue fabric into smaller isosceles triangles for eyes.

It was a stylized catgirl with a red pigtail. To most it would be a bit odd, though not scary; but for Ranma…

'That's the most evil thing I can imagine!' The catgirl had a tear run down her face.

A bit more sewing and Ranma finished her costume. Almost.

'I need to keep my identity hidden, but how?' The catgirl searched the tent. 'Not much left. Except that black bandanna-like strip… Perhaps…'

She tied it around her forehead before lowering it down around her eyes.

"A freaking blindfold…" Ranma muttered. "Oh well, it's all I have."

*Snip* *Snip*

Now able to see, Ranma searched for a mirror (half expecting not to find one).

But there was one… a small one… attached to an extendable metal stick.

"Wow…" Ranma shivered as she saw her reflection. 'I look badass! And like a demon! Damn, Ranma. You scary!'

*Growl*

Ranma doubled over as her stomach complained. 'Well, I need to eat. Guess it's time to try this out…'

With that, the catgirl got dressed, her eyes becoming slitted.

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The Tendo family sat, dinner on the table in front of them.

Nabiki had changed her clothes, a look of irritation on her face.

Her father, Soun Tendo, stared towards the door, still waiting.

Kasumi had her hands folded in her lap, an eternal smile on her face.

The dinner sat there, the steam coming off of it slowly fading.

*Growl*

Nabiki groaned in frustration as her stomach whined. "Can we just eat already?! I'm starving!"

"But they'll be here soon!" Soun argued, eyes glued towards the direction of the door.

"You said that two hours ago!" Nabiki complained. "Heck, Akane and I will both graduate at this rate!"

Akane, the youngest Tendo daughter, who had been venting her frustrations by destroying cinderblocks and smacking training dummies for the past few hours, was slumped over the table; she agreed with her sister by way of a small nod.

"Daughters!" Soun furrowed his eyebrows. "Patience!"

"Father, the food will grow cold soon," Kasumi spoke, facing her parent.

Soun tried to argue, but couldn't do so against Kasumi. "Will you save them some, at least?"

Kasumi nodded. "Of course, Father."

Soun sighed. "Very well."

"Thank you for the food!" they all shouted, or at least tried to.

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Due to a lack of foresight, Ranma forgot to cut a hole in her pants for her tail until after she put them on. Realizing that she didn't want to put a hole in her boxers, the catgirl reluctantly went without them. She then had to cut a small enough hole in her pants to let her tail out, but not big enough to show the world her butt.

It was a bit difficult, and having to touch her tail made her shiver.

After that mishap, however, the rest of the costume went on easily and without incident.

Ranma Saotome then prowled the back alleys of Itabashi, her constant movements silencing her stomach.

She crept by the bookstore from earlier and was glad to see that the police were gone.

The rain had let up mostly, but the sun was setting and it was still overcast. Her feet were wet, as she went barefoot, but she didn't mind.

'Looking for criminals to scare… Didn't think I'd be doing that yesterday.' Ranma shook her head in disbelief. 'Nothing out of the ordinary. Probably waiting 'til it gets dark.'

Sighing at that, the catgirl decided to practice roofhopping and scanning crowds until she spotted something.

Quickly and without being seen, Ranma roofhopped from one side of the ward to the other, seeing lots of strange things… but nothing that she could consider criminal activity.

She didn't have to wait until nightfall, however. When she made it back to where she started, the catgirl saw something down below the caught her interest.

One benefit of being a catgirl was the enhancement to her senses. Ranma was able to see in the dark almost as if she were in the daytime wearing sunglasses. Her hearing, especially when her ears were not covered up, was much more refined than before; and due to being able to turn them independently of each other, they made tracking a sound's origin child's play.

So it was no surprise that, despite being across the street up on top of a three-story building, she could hear what a man in a business suit was saying to a woman in a suit carrying a briefcase. A woman with whom the businessman was getting a bit too intimate, if the look on her face was any clue.

"Come on, why not? It's all you are good for anyway, girl," said the man as he smiled lewdly. "Your performance is the worst in the company, you know. I may have to fire you…"

The woman gulped, her body shivering. "No! Please, sir, I… I'll do anything else. Please…"

"_Anything_?" the man asked, licking his lips.

"I… What do you have in mind, sir?" The woman tried to compose herself, but failed.

"It gets really stressful during the day, you know? I was thinking you could help with that. A massage here, some fellatio there… That's all." The man's grin grew more perverted.

The woman's eyes widened to extreme levels. "But… but if anyone finds out… If… Then I'll never find a husband!"

"You should have thought of that years ago. You're in your mid-twenties now, awfully close to being a Christmas cake…" the man chuckled. "No one would want you then. Why would they? No one really wants you now. _I_ may not want you now. Do you know how many girls are willing to take your job for half the pay? And it's not like the public would even care."

Her head was bowed and tears started trailing down her cheeks. "No… No…"

"Come, you can start right here in the alley next to us." The man grabbed the woman's hand and dragged her into the darkened passage.

*CRACK*

Furious over what she'd witnessed, Ranma literally ripped pieces of concrete from the roof of the building she was using as a perch.

The catgirl leapt across the street in a single bound and without a sound. 'OH, _NO_, YOU DON'T!'

Anger was the only emotion Ranma felt as she got into position. Her eyes were slitted as they glowed in the darkness.

"It will be fun," the businessman told his employee. "We could even watch the sunset together after this."

He easily pushed the woman to her knees, her fear freezing her.

"No teeth, or I WILL take your virginity." The man smirked as he undid his belt.

*THUMP*

The man jumped as he heard something big land on the dumpster right behind him.

Already forced to look up, the woman saw The Catgirl, her eyes glowing, with the clouds above red with the rays of the setting sun. The Catgirl's claws were out in a menacing pose and her scowl was the angriest the woman had ever seen. As the streetlights weren't on yet, The Catgirl looked like a silhouette against the clouds.

He turned around right then. "What is go-CCKKK!"

The Catgirl grabbed the man by the neck with one hand, claws cutting into his skin.

The Catgirl easily lifted the man off the ground, her fangs showing. _**"**__**SHUT UP! You have no right to speak to me, you scum!"**_

Gagging noises could be heard as the man tried to free himself to no avail.

_**"You make me sick,**__**"**_ The Catgirl spat in the man's terrified face. _**"**__**People like you deserve to die!"**_

The man had blood running down his neck, unable to do anything but shake in fear.

_**"But I have something else in mind.**__**"**_ The Catgirl squeezed harder. _**"**__**First I'll rip out your voicebox, and then I'll shove it down your throat. Make you swallow it. Then you'll be paralyzed, your spine crushed. But that's not all, no… Your forehead will be scarred, telling the world what a waste of a human being you are, unable to move, to talk. Oh, you'll beg to die right then and there, but you won't. You won't be able to move at all. Your mouth won't work even though you want to scream…"**_

The man soiled himself right then and there, falling into unconsciousness.

Ranma shook her head and let the man drop to the ground.

'What's gotten into me? I mean, I know he deserved it, but that… that was just…' Ranma rubbed her eyes with her palms, making sure not to get blood on herself.

The catgirl didn't realize that her eyes were normal again, given that she was so focused on trying to calm herself down.

"Th… thank you…" the woman said shakily as she rose to her feet and bowed. "Goodbye, Catgirl…"

With that, the woman ran off.

Ranma sighed as she looked down at the man she scared spitless. "Please be alive…"

The catgirl got down and felt for a pulse with her left hand, finding one.

"Well, luckily this is a fish restaurant here…" Ranma muttered. "Maybe…"

The catgirl searched the dumpster and found some discarded fish. She then stuffed them in the man's clothes, even putting some down his pants. For added effect, she put his right hand in his pants. She did all this while carefully avoiding getting the man's blood on anything.

"The bleeding…" Ranma bit her lip and searched for something to stop it.

She ended up finding a long rope that she used to wrap around his neck; the extra length she tied to the dumpster.

Ranma was able to wipe her bloody hand off on the trash, causing her to gag from the smell.

'That should do it. Yeah…' Ranma thought with a sigh of relief.

*Growl*

The catgirl glanced the man over and sighed. "Oh, what the heck?"

She took all the yen from his wallet and put it back.

'Wonder how long he'll be here before someone finds him…' Ranma rubbed her chin.

That's when she heard cats off in the distance, getting closer.

Ranma bit her lip and knocked on the back door to the restaurant.

A guy with a curly mustache came out a few minutes later. "What? What is it…? Oh."

He saw the man on the ground, covered in cats, seemingly commiting lewd acts while passed out from choking himself.

"Pervert…" the mustached man muttered as he went back inside to alert the authorities.

Ranma looked down at the scene and let out her breath. 'That was close… But never mind that now. Time to eat!'

With that, the catgirl left to find food.

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Meanwhile in China…

{Excuse me, which way to Tokyo?} a boy named Ryoga Hibiki asked a man while holding a map upside down.

{Tokyo? This is China!} the man replied. {Japan is east. That way.}

{Yes, I realized that!} Ryoga growled, fangs showing.

The man waved his arms in front of his face in defense. {Whoa, whoa, easy, easy. So yes, head that way and you will find the sea.}

{You better be right about this,} Ryoga mumbled as he started to head out, going in the wrong direction, as usual.

{No, the other way!} the man yelled. {Be careful. There have been rumors lately that a monster lives out in the wilderness.}

'Monster, huh?' Ryoga smirked. {There is only one monster I know, and I will have my revenge…}

{Well, be careful anyway. I heard that the United States is interested in this thing. Very dangerous,} the man warned. {Manbearpig is no laughing matter.}

Ryoga snorted. {It is, because it doesn't exist.}

The eternally lost boy looked up to see rain clouds.

{Yes, it does!} the man argued. {I don't have proof, but I saw it with my own eyes! Half man, half bear, and half pig!}

{That doesn't make any sense,} Ryoga stated. {Besides, bears don't really live here… But wolves do…}

With that, rain fell from the sky, and the man screamed like a little girl.

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**Author's notes:** Dun, dun, DUUUHNNN! Uh oh, what is going to happen next!? Cliffhanger! Anyway, Noy apologizes for the wait. It needed to be done right. Hopefully it'll be faster next time… with actual plot! 0_0 Anyway, like the logo? Telinú did it. I know, right! Thanks for reading, until next time, I am ze Text!


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